by Stu Brennan in the February 1996 RootesReview
There has been a lot published over the years about the crud on the inside of our fuel tanks, and how bits of it seem to wander up the fuel line from time to time, leading to silent engines. I’ve never seen anything published about taking any measures to protect our fuel pumps, however.
For the trip to United XVI, I decided to install a replacement fuel pump, the exact duplicate from Victoria. I found my original pump hanging from what was left of the stock bracket, so a bit of extra fabrication would be necessary. Seeing this as an opportunity rather than a problem, I decided to slightly relocate the pump on a redesigned bracket, and install a filter ahead of it.
The pump is still under the little door, but it is now at the extreme right side of the opening, and rotated 90 degrees clockwise. The source fuel line from the tanks now feeds a fuel filter, which in turn feeds the pump. A new exit line was fabricated to mate up with the old one.
They called Security on me while I was opening every unsealed filter box at Walmart, taking measurements. The filter I selected was a “Pro/Gauge GF61M”, which is an all metal equivalent of the Fram G2 or AC GF61, the same filter that’s in the engine compartment of my Tiger. There were other possibilities that you might want to consider. There are those clear filters with replaceable elements that you see in the hot rod department in larger parts stores. And there are also some fairly large metal bodied filters for some Chrysler, Nissan, or Ford products that appeared to have the right size of hose nipples. You would never have to change one of those.
I installed the filter with a short piece of hose between it and the source line. I should be able to pinch off the hose when I want to change the filter.
Speaking of hose, there is another bit of hose to consider. Have you ever replaced that bit of hose that links the body mounted portion of the fuel line to the engine mounted section? That hose lives a hard life, so it’s worth replacing it every now and then.